


Into the Looking Glass

by kmoaton



Series: Between Darkness and Light [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-18
Updated: 2017-01-18
Packaged: 2018-09-18 07:09:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9373688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kmoaton/pseuds/kmoaton
Summary: Harry grieves for his past and is faced with dealing with his future.Written for Hurt/Comfort Bingo on LJ.  Prompt used - Grief





	

**Author's Note:**

> My apologies for the delay. I teach and school started back and I was swamped.

When Harry didn't appear for breakfast the next morning, Snape didn't press the issue. He knew the young wizard was grieving for so many things. The loss of trust, the loss of innocence, and facing the realization that someone was willing to sacrifice you for their own motivations. At least Snape knew dealing with the Dark Lord where he stood. He knew any day could be the day he died on the whim of the Dark Lord. To be a child, believing that someone cared for your well-being only to find you were be raised as a lamb for slaughter was calamitous. Dobby reported taking Harry tea but noted that he refused food. Snape simply nodded and dismissed the elf for the moment. He would let Harry have this moment. Grieve for what was done but he couldn’t wallow forever. 

ooOOoo

Harry was mildly surprised that Snape didn't force him out of the room. Mildly because he was too lost in his grief to care more. All of his life had been a set up for pain. Brief moments of happiness marked by indescribable loss and pain. The loss of his parents leading to the hell of living with the Dursleys. Discovering he was a wizard to only find there were people who hated him because the followed the other side. Learning that fame was a fickle mistress, the public loved him or hated him based on what was printed in the papers. The one shining spot was the support of Dumbledore. He made Harry feel cared for and supported. To find out it was all a lie ripped Harry's heart out. Harry replayed every conversation, looking for what he could have missed. He wondered about his friends. Where they in on the ruse? He wondered about Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Sirius and Remus. Did they pretend to care about him to keep him in line with Dumbledore's master plan? 

_"It's too much!"_ Harry groaned. For the first time since he had be taken for Hogwarts, Harry didn't want to return. He didn't want to deal with the fake concern from the adults in his life. He didn't want to have to look at his friends and wonder if they were sincere. He no longer wanted to deal with the love/hate everyone had for him. Inadvertently, he had been given an opportunity for a fresh start. He could be Harry, not The-Boy-Who-Lived or The Savior. He could be just Harry. 

ooOOoo

It was dinnertime when Harry finally reappeared. Dobby was just presenting a simple meal of bangers and mash when Harry had a seat. No words were exchanged while the two ate together. After Dobby cleared the table and served after dinner tea, Harry finally asked the question that had been burning since he had come to his revelation. 

"What happens now?"

Snape took a sip of his tea. He wondered if Harry had become accepting of what was going on. He knew later they would have a more in depth conversation but for the moment, he focused on the question at hand. 

"Day after tomorrow, we are going to Japan, a little village outside of Kyoto, to be exact." 

Harry was confused. "Why Japan?"

"The magical community in Japan has no problem with the study of the Dark Arts. While they do not practice it, they learn about it in order to help those who have been attacked or injured by it. I've been in touch with a collective of wizards who think they can help you with your problem." Snape replied  
.  
Harry's eyes widened, a glimmer of hope blooming in his chest. "You mean removing the Horcrux?"

"Yes but you have to understand it is not without its risks." Snape warned.

Sighing, Harry leaned forward in his chair. "At this point, I have nothing left to lose."

ooOOoo  
Japan was nothing like Harry had ever seen before. It was almost overwhelming to the senses. Tokyo was so big and so busy. Everywhere to eye could see, there was lights, sounds, and people. The duo only spent a few hours in the city of Tokyo but it was more that enough for Harry now. If he survived this latest crisis, it would be on his list of places to explore. A Japanese wizard met them at their port key location. After giving them magical translation earpieces, he introduced himself. 

"I am Hiroki. I will be accompanying you to our village. Once we are there, I will explain more to you."

The trip was very quick and arriving at the village was a total 180 from their first views of Tokyo. Found outside of the city of Kyoto, the village was hidden from muggles. Harry could feel the magic that surrounded the area and found it comforting. He and Severus were shown to a small cottage that was styled in a traditional Japanese manor. After they put away their belongings, they met Hiroki and another witch. 

"This is Kazue. She will be assisting me." Nothing else was discussed until tea and a small meal was served Harry was surprised how much he enjoyed some of the traditional Japanese foods. Once sated, the sun had gone down and he was ready to hear what Snape had only alluded. 

"In Japan, we do not limit the knowledge magic by dark and light. We found that it limits our magical skills and reduces the power a witch or wizard could truly have. In order to be truly powerful, the practitioner has to know about all forms of magic in the world." Hiroki began.

A small frown marred Snape's brow. "Is that why you don't use wands?"

Kazue answered. "We use them but only as a focus. We learn wandless magic young and once the wizard or witch has control of their magic and their core, they begin to learn using it with a wand."

That was something that made sense to Severus. Severus knew that many pureblood families trained their children once they began to show accidental magic but not to the extent the Japanese apparently did. Between the two foreign wizards, they explained the background of Japanese magic. The focus of Japanese magic was what many would consider light magic but also the focus on the power behind words and names. Kazue then turned her focus to Harry.

"I can feel the taint of dark magic on you but in order to deal with it, you must first deal with your issues of grief."

Harry was stunned. How did she sense his feelings? "What will I need to do?"

Hiroki answered. "In the morning, we will go to the shrine. We will attempt to purify your soul and remove the taint."

With his heart racing, Harry had to know. "Will I die?"

Kazue gave a smile that chilled both Harry and Severus. "The possibility is always there." 

ooOOoo  
The next morning, Harry and Severus were summoned to a cave at the end of the village. A waterfall was off to the side of the cave. The spray of water amplified the chill in the air as it thundered over the rocks. Kazue and Hiroki stood at the entrance of the cave, wearing what Harry knew to be called kimonos. They were pure white and despite the chill in the air, both magicals were barefooted. Kazue approached them with Kimonos over his arm.

"You both need to bath in the purifying waters of the falls before you can enter the sacred cave."

Both men were shocked. It was a freezing cold January day. The idea of stripping naked and entering the icy waters was daunting.

"You have to be kidding?" Harry stammered.

Hiroki gave a snarky grin. "We are not. These blessed waters will purify your body and spirit."

Both of the British magicals scowled but began to undress. The warming charms would hold at least until they entered the water. Harry was fire red and suddenly self-conscious about being nude in front of Severus and two strangers. While the potion mater's back was turned, Harry briefly glanced at him and was surprised. Severus was slim but sinewy and more muscular that harry had thought under the billowing robes. As Severus began to turn around, Harry dropped his clothes on the shore and stepped in the water, shock erasing any remaining thoughts from his head. 

Instinct led Harry into the thundering falls and summoning his last bit of courage, he stepped quickly into the waters. The shock of the icy water rushing over him caused Harry to completely zone out. He could vaguely remember being led from the water, his shivering body wrapped in robes and a potion forced down his throat. His next conscious thought was lying on a raised dais with chanting taking place. His forehead felt like someone was stabbing it and he could hear screams before realizing he was the one screaming. 

"You must fight it. Take all the sadness and grief and anger and use it to expel the evil."

Harry thought about the betrayal by Dumbledore and the possibility his alleged friends knew and stood by. His memories rolled back to his treatment by the Dursleys, who hated him for being alive.

_"Freak!"_

_"Abomination!"_

_"Hellspawn!"_

Harry could hear the screams of his father, telling Lily to run. He could hear the screams of his mother, begging for her infant son's life. There was a flash of green and Harry Potter was no more.


End file.
